Lithgow’s Brad De Losa has once again proven he is the king of timbersports after taking out the Australian Championship crown in Melbourne on Sunday.
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De Losa’s stormed to his second national title in two years with a red-hot time of 6.38 seconds in the final discipline of the day, the hot saw.
He finished strongly to edge out Victoria’s Brayden Meyer by one point in the final standings.
“What a day! Honestly thought it was all over after my slow start, but I dug deep set 2 new PB's in the chopping and brought it home with the hotsaw,” De Losa said on Facebook.
“Commiserations to Brayden, you came out flying and made us all have to step it up a gear, big thanks to all the other athletes, anyone could have won it all day so it shows just how good our championship is.
“Thank you to everyone that's helped me prepare this year and in the past and of course my family, I couldn't do it with out your support!”
Going into the last two heats, any of the top four stood a chance of taking the title.
Victoria’s Laurence O’Toole set the stage alight with a 6.55 second cut to take the provisional lead, with only Meyer and De Losa left to compete.
Meyer needed to better a time of 15.82 secs to claim the title and it looked like he had it in the bag. But his day came crashing down when a lapse of concentration meant he did not press his hot saw decompression valve to ensure an easy start.
All eyes then shifted to De Losa who eclipsed O’Toole’s time by more than a tenth of a second to claim the title.
He set a new personal best time in the standing block and posted the fastest time of the day, only to be knocked off the top spot by Queensland’s Mitch Argent.
De Losa also backed up with another PB on the underhand chop, meaning quick times in two disciplines that are usually his weakest.
The win also secured De Losa’s place on the Chopperoos side at the World Championships in Norway in November.
He will compete as Australia’s individual representative to win back the win the World Championship crown he earned in 2013.
The Lithgow local will also take part in the team event where the Chopperoos will be looking to be named the world’s best for a fourth consecutive year.
De Losa’s Chopperoos teammates will be Bradyen Meyer (Vic), Laurence O’Toole (Vic). Glen Gillam (Vic) and wild card Mitch Argent (Qld).
Judges selected Argent for the fifth and final spot on the Chopperoos team as a result of his blistering time in the standing block of 14.1 seconds.
Final standings:
- Brad De Losa (NSW) 34
- Brayden Meyer (Vic) 33
- Laurence O’Toole (Vic) 32
- Glen Gillam (Vic) 28
- Jamie Head (Qld) 25
- Kody Steers (Tas) 25
- Matt Gurr (Tas) 20
- Mitch Argent (Qld) 19
